“At Wharton, you can truly customize your experience and tailor it to your goals. I realized there were so many things I could do and consider, but having my top priorities in mind at all times helped prevent analysis paralysis and maximize my time effectively.” – Sara Ganz, WG’24 and MBA Leadership Fellow

As new academic years unfold at the University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton School continues to engage in the annual back to college season. While an air of festivity settles across campus in Philadelphia, it’s understandable that some students might feel occasionally overwhelmed as they get into day-to-day life at Wharton. 

How does one navigate this new ecosystem? Just ask MBA Leadership Fellow, Sara Ganz, WG’24, who is gearing up to mentor Wharton students stepping foot on campus for the very first time. 

“From the get-go, understand that Wharton is ever-changing. In the beginning, your week-to-week experience can and will change,” says Ganz. “There’s so many people who find their core group of friends during the second term instead of their first, while others discover their niche clubs and passions right away. Trust the process, and know this: everyone is on their own journey.”

Miami-native Ganz, who considers herself as the “unofficial hype squad of the MBA Office of Student Life,” shares her tips-and-tricks and best advice for first-year MBA students looking to kick-off their inaugural semester on campus. 

Sara Ganz, WG’24, outside of Wharton’s Steinberg-Deitrich Hall. (Image: Sara Ganz)

Why Wharton + how to avoid FOMO at School

“At Wharton, you can truly customize your experience and tailor it to your goals,” Ganz advises. Also noting that everyone is on their own journey in terms of what and with whom they connect right away, Ganz seeks to reassure other MBA students that they have more time and space to figure out exactly what they want to prioritize in terms of their overall Wharton experience and to make meaningful connections. “I recommend that everyone make a list of their top three priorities at Wharton and to weigh every decision against those three main criteria. With an over-abundance of career opportunities, clubs, treks, and classes to choose from, having my top priorities in mind at all times helped me to maximize my time more effectively and avoid analysis paralysis”

Each semester, Ganz evaluates the order of importance for those three goals — which include her social priorities, building entrepreneurial skills, and maintaining excellent academics, though not necessarily in that order every semester — which shift depending on Ganz’ short-term goals.

Wharton Professor Adam Grant (left). (Image: Sara Ganz)

Maximizing your MBA Orientation experience

So far, some of Ganz’ most profound Wharton experiences came during her first semester at Wharton, where she learned to develop her personal leadership style during her early weeks on campus via the School’s venerated Management 6100 course. A required weeklong course for all MBA students, Ganz experienced eye-opening moments that enlightened her perspective. 

“My biggest takeaway from Wharton is to always assume good intent.” Ganz says. “Everyone is fighting their own invisible battle, and the frameworks we learned in pre-term and Management 6100 continually help me to reframe and navigate through conflict from a place of greater empathy, understanding, and willingness to address and resolve personal blind spots.” 

During her own Orientation Week, Ganz especially appreciated how Wharton intentionally structures multiple touch-points to help MBA students connect with their classmates. 

“Rather than dropping you with 900 other MBA students, Wharton does a phenomenal job connecting new students on a more intimate level during pre-term,” Ganz explains.” “Whether it’s small group dinners, your cohort, pod or Learning Team, there are really beautiful moments to connect with classmates at the micro-level before being thrown into the macro.”

In this same spirit of slowly-walking one’s way into the MBA Program’s immersive experience, Ganz also recommends that first-year MBA students not feel a need to lock into commitments too quickly. 

Orientation Week is a wild ride for most. A self-described non-athlete, Ganz was still eager to participate in the Wharton Olympics, a beloved Orientation Week activity. As a member of her class’ Lion Cluster, Ganz championed the African board game, mancala, during the Wharton Olympics; she also wrote the lyrics and music-directed her cluster’s rendition of the “Circle of Life”  for Wharton’s Got Talent. By fully embracing the silliness, the connections, and diving into every opportunity, any incoming MBA student can ensure that they will genuinely enjoy the beginnings of their Wharton experience.

Proud members of the Lion Cluster, Ganz alongside her learning team members, Najib Zgheib and Hannah Zhang, all WG’24, at the Wharton Olympics. (Image: Sara Ganz)

– Grace Meredith

Posted: August 22, 2023

MBA Program

Sara Ganz, WG’24

Previous Education: Harvard University, BA in Economics; London Business School, Master’s in Financial Analysis
Extracurricular activities at Wharton: Entrepreneurship, Tech, Dance Studio, Wine Club, Food Club, Boxing, Ski, Retail, Innovation & Design
Prior Wharton Experience: Capital Rx, Estee Lauder
Post-Wharton plans: Ganz is founding Alchemist Ventures with her brother, Aaron, who is earning his EMBA at MIT as his sister wraps up at Wharton. Together, both are building a portfolio of products that leverage AI to solve operational issues, simplify operations, and craft branding excellence.

Learn more about the opportunities Ganz enjoyed during her first few weeks as a Wharton MBA student:

About the Lauder Leadership Fellows: 

The William P. Lauder Wharton Leadership Fellows are a select group of second-year MBA students who mentor, support, and facilitate the School’s Learning Team formation process. Leadership Fellows also serve as personal and leadership development resources throughout an MBA students’ entire first year.

Each Learning Team is assigned a second-year Leadership Fellow (LF). In addition to coaching and mentoring first-year students on personal development, LFs also mentor, support, and facilitate the team formation process and serve as team process consultants for the Learning Teams. LFs mentor Learning Teams throughout the Learning Team Experience Retreat, Management 6100: Foundations of Teamwork and Leadership, and also facilitate the learning team 360 peer review process.

Contact whartonlp@wharton.upenn.edu to connect with a Wharton MBA Leadership Fellow, or to learn how to become one yourself as a student at Wharton.

About Wharton’s MBA Learning Teams:

Teamwork is one of our core leadership competencies. During your time at Wharton, you will participate in as many as 20 teams, including first year Learning Teams, elective course teams, club and conference roles, student government, and co-curricular programs and fellowships. As your first team at Wharton, the Learning Team serves as a model experience for team formation and effective teamwork. The Learning Team is a laboratory meant to hone your teamwork skills, providing you with the opportunity to practice different leadership styles and skills that promote collaborative learning and development through group projects across the Fixed Core curriculum.

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